COVID-19 WRAP | Covid-19 fight almost over, time to rebuild economy: David Makhura

February 21 2022 — 16:03

Covid-19 fight almost over, time to rebuild economy: David Makhura

Gauteng premier David Makhura says the sense of emergency afforded to Covid-19 in the past two years must be replicated and directed at unemployment, rampant crime and economic recovery in the coming years.

Makhura was delivering the state of the province address at the Brixton Community Centre in Johannesburg on Monday.

According to him, scientists suggest that Covid-19 would soon transform into being endemic from being a pandemic. The provincial government would now turn to tackling the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus which destroyed many lives and livelihoods.

February 21 2022 — 13:03

Covid-19 vaccination rules changed: Here's how

SA's health department is changing the Covid-19 vaccination rules to try to increase uptake as inoculations have slowed and the country has ample vaccine stocks.

The government is shortening the interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine from 42 to 21 days and will allow people who have received two doses of Pfizer to get a booster dose three months after their second shot as opposed to six months previously.

It will offer the option of “mixing and matching” booster jabs, with adults who were given one dose of Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) vaccine being offered either a J&J or Pfizer booster two months after their J&J shot. Adults who received two doses of Pfizer will be allowed J&J or Pfizer as a third dose.

February 21 2022 — 10:20

Get vaxxed or get off our campus: SA varsities get tough

Two senior academics at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape have been barred from teaching on campus because they refuse to be vaccinated.

And staff at Johannesburg’s Wits University and the University of Johannesburg face being fired if they insist on remaining unvaccinated after their requests for exemptions were rejected.

With the new academic year starting and campuses filling up, tertiary institutions also have to deal with the issue of vaccinations.

February 21 2022 — 08:00

Surgery catch-up hamstrung by shortage of ICU nurses

Hospitals in SA have been put under immense strain over the past two years as beds were filled with Covid-19 patients and elective surgeries had to be put on hold.

To make things worse, pre-existing shortages of intensive care trained nurses and other critical staff were exacerbated by healthcare workers contracting Covid-19 and falling ill or having to isolate themselves.

We explore surgery catch-up plans in Gauteng and the Western Cape and ask what is being done to address the underlying problem of not having enough ICU nurses.

February 21 2022 — 07:19

I received the Pfizer jab, can I get a booster shot of the J&J vaccine?

People who are vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine can only get a Pfizer booster shot, and those who are vaccinated with a J&J vaccine can only vaccinate with a J&J shot. 

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has not authorised the mixing of vaccines and boosters.

“Sahpra has not licensed mix-and-match vaccines. However, there is good evidence that mix-and-match vaccines are just as effective, and sometimes better, at increasing antibody levels. Sahpra has requested the submission of evidence to support a ‘mix-and-match’ approach,” said the health department.

February 21 2022 — 06:56

Majority of Japanese unhappy with progress of booster shots - survey

A vast majority of Japanese think the rollout of booster shots against Covid-19 is too slow and give mixed reviews to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including last week's decision to ease border rules, polls show.

Anger over the Japanese government's handling of the pandemic helped sink the administration of Kishida predecessor Yoshihide Suga, and Kishida faces a crucial election for the upper house of parliament in July.

About 73% of respondents to a Kyodo news agency opinion poll over the weekend felt Japan's rollout of booster shots has been far two slow, though 54.1% approved of how it had tackled the coronavirus overall.

February 21 2022 — 06:32

African nations seeking Egypt’s locally made vaccine, firm says

Egypt is readying to export locally made Covid-19 vaccines to African nations, looking to position itself as a hub for inoculations on the continent grappling with the virus.

Egyptian authorities are expected to discuss potential export plans with a Chinese delegation at the end of February, Heba Wali, president of the state-run Holding Company for Biological Products & Vaccines, or Vacsera, said on Sunday in an interview in Cairo.

The move comes as a government official said a batch of locally made Sinovac vaccines had been sent to the Palestinian Territories, in the first overseas shipment. — Bloomberg

February 21 2022 — 06:22

SA records 1,456 new cases and 50 more deaths

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